The Beasts Within
by Pastrygirl
Summary: Toshiro and friends head off to Paradise Island in hopes of discovering why Aizen's Espada have started appearing in this remote island.


**Greeting and welcome to the start of an exciting new story. This is my first shot at a crossover so we'll see how this goes. The story takes place before the reclamation of Shiganshina, but after Reiner and Bertolt had escaped without Eren. On the Bleach side, it is before the war with Aizen. Well I hope you enjoy!**

**I do not own any Bleach or Attack on Titan characters.**

It was a warm summer afternoon. The sun was peeking through the trees creating dancing shadows across the ground as a gently breeze blew. A few birds flew across sky while singing a soft yet cheerful tune that most people would have missed unless things were as completely silent as it currently was. In the middle of this serene landscape stood three young men who stood tensely while facing two others. The one on the left was clearly the leader of the two as the second man stood slightly behind the other man and remained completely silent. The three young men stood firmly in as they studied the duo in front of them with clenched fists. The man had nearly appeared out of thin air just a few moments ago, and was emitting a powerful aura unlike anything they had ever encountered. This stranger was clearly dangerous. Despite being titans, the young men could feel a glimpse of fear rush over them.

"It is such an honor to finally meet not only one, but three of the infamous Titan powers." The strange man announced cheerfully with a seemingly genuine grin, despite his menacing aura. "You have no idea how challenging it was to track you all down and manage to meet you."

"Who are you?" the boy in the middle with large glasses asked firmly without giving away a hint of fear. "What business do you have with us?"

"I apologize. How rude of me to not introduce myself." The older man's smile grew. "My name is Sosuke Aizen, and this is my subordinate, Ulquiorra." he gestured lazily to the other man who only nodded in response. "And I have a proposition for you titans."

"How do you even know who we are?!" the blonde boy on the left shouted defensively.

"I know exactly who you Reiner Braun." the older man sneered without dropping his smile. "As well as Zeke Jaeger and Bertolt Hoover." He guestered to each one respectively, making the titans tighten their fists.

"Peace young warriors." Aizen held up his hand in an innocent gesture. "I mean none of you any harm. I wish to help you obtain the freedom you so greatly desire."

"Here's not a good place to talk." Zeke said flatly before turning around and walking off. "Follow me."

The small group walked in silence for a few miles until Zeke lead them into a small cabin. After checking the building to ensure it was empty, the young men joined Aizen at a small table in the middle of the building.

"Why would you want to help us out?" Zeke asked as soon he sat down. "You do know what we are right?"

"I am deeply sympathetic towards the plight of the Eldian people. Your kind has suffered at the hands of others for centuries. People who have repressed you purely out of fear, just for being different." Aizen paused for a moment before continuing. "The Eldian people have been blessed by god, and granted powers that surpass the abilities of any other human. It angers me to see such powerful beings who are forced to serve inferior creatures. If you could amass an army, then no one would ever stand in your way again."

"You speak of treason, Sosuke." Zeke challenged.

"I speak of freedom. I know there is a Eldian resistance in Marley, and nothing would please me more than to assist those who have been blessed by god to gain their freedom from the tyranny they have been forced under."

The three titans whispered carefully for a moment before answering. The truth of his words had struck a chord with the three, but they were still unsure about the odd man.

"Even if we wanted to assemble an army." Bertolt began quietly. "It would be impossible to achieve without the founding titan."

"Ah I am assuming you mean, Eren Jaeger." the man smugly added.

"You are well informed." Zeke praised with a half smirk. "He has proven difficult to recover in the past. While he is an adequate opponent, the biggest challenges are the soldiers of that land. They are seasoned warriors who are equipped with a mechanical device around their waist that allows them enhanced mobility, and they are extremely determined to protect the founding titan."

"We lost Annie in the process." Bertolt added sadly.

"Allow me to assist you in recovering the founding titan." Aizen gave a small bow of his head before turning to Bertolt. "And miss Annie Leonhart as well."

"Why would you help us. What do you have to gain from all this." Reiner asked skeptically as he crossed his arms.

"Like I said in the beginning, Mr. Braun. I have a proposition, I will assist you in obtaining your freedom, and in return I humbly ask that you would use your army to assist me. I too desire freedom, and with your hel I could achieve it."

Zeke narrowed his eyes in thought. The mans offer was tempting, but it was troubling how straight forward the man had been. Aizen seemed like a man who was always two steps ahead of you, so what could he possibly gain from lying all his intentions out on the table like this. Zeke studied the burnette's eye in hopes of some clue to the man's thoughts. But Aizen's eyes remained cool and completely unreadable. He sighed, perhaps they could trust the man, for now. He glanced between Reiner and Bertolt and could tell his fellow warriors were on the same page as him.

"Very well, Sosuke Aizen, if you can help us recover the founding titan and Annie Leonhart, then we will help you under the condition that your intentions are truthful and you are hiding no deception from us." Zeke held out his hand firmly with suspicion still in his eyes. Aizen's grin grew as he reached up his hand to firmly shake the titan's hand.

"Excellent!"

/

The sun shone brightly through the cracks into the dimly lit office as the young white haired captain of the Gotei Thirteen read through the latest reports from the surveillance division of squad twelve. There have been portals from Hueco Mundo opening up in the world of the living recently, but without any hollow sightings. At least according to the reports in his hand. It was also strange how far away these portals have been opening. Toshiro has been spending the last month trying to piece together these odd occurrences. He believed Aizen was involved, but he needed to find evidence of that before the Head captain would allow him to go gallivanting off so far.

The young captain sighed and set the papers down while pinching the bridge of his nose out of stress. A knock on the door brought him out of his focus.

"Enter." he announced flatly.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" the messenger bowed before walking in with a small stack of papers. "I have urgent reports from squad twelve. They said it was something you would want to see, sir."

"Thank you." Toshiro nodded as he took the papers, and with another bow the messenger left.

The young man quickly scanned through the papers, hoping to find what he was looking for, and after a minute he was rewarded as a small grin spread across his face.

"Matsumoto." he shouted loud enough to arouse his lieutenant from her afternoon slumber with a start.

"Ay Captain, you nearly scared me death." the orange haired woman dramatically pouted.

"Quit whining, we have to go see the Head Captain." he responded icily as he walked out of his office. Rangiku whined again, but followed her captain anyways.

/

"You may enter, Captain Hitsugaya." a gruff older voice called out from the otherside of the door. Toshiro then opened the door and bowed before entering the room towards the large desk in the middle of the room. Rangiku followed silently behind him, but was still looking around admiring the room.

"Sir, I have reports confirmations of trace hollow signatures emerging from one of the Garganta portals that have been appearing." Toshiro began before the old man held up his hand.

"Captain, I have already told you that I will not send any of my men that far out without solid proof that Aizen is involved." Yamamoto sighed.

"But sir, these new reports suggest that the hollow signatures more than likely belong an Espada." Toshiro paused to hand the papers to the older captain so he could see for himself. The older man cracked open one of his eyes to examine the contents of the report. After a moment he sighed.

"Very well, Captain Hitsugaya, you have my permission to investigate this matter, but I do not want you to go alone."

"But, sir, I. ." Toshiro began to protest, but held his tongue once the older man held up his hand and shook his head.

"There is no discussion about this matter. There are powerful beings in this land called titans, and I will not risk the life of one of my captains in such a manner where it is unnecessary. You will take Leutinents Matsumoto and Abari, along with the substitute, Ichigo Kurosaki. He is already here in the Soul Society, I will send word to him"

"Yes sir." Toshiro bowed and grounded out through clenched teeth. This was just what he needed, to be slowed down, he thought sarcastically.

"You are dismissed." The head captain waved, as Toshiro turned to leave with Rangiku. "And please, captain." Yamamoto added. "Be very careful, these titans are not something to underestimate. I suggest reading on them before you leave."

"I will, sir." Toshiro bowed again before leaving.

Yamamoto sighed again. He had wished the young captain wasn't so interested in heading to Paradise Island. Titans were extremely dangerous, and if Aizen was involved things could be even worse. The situation indeed needed to be investigated; he just wished it wasn't the young prodigy. The boy tended to make rash decisions when Aizen was involved.

/

The following morning Toshiro stood in front of the Senkaimon gate wearing clothes from the world of the living with his lieutenant waiting impatiently for the other two to arrive. Just as his patience was running then, Ichigo and Renji appeared around the corner clearly engaging each other in some senseless argument.

"That's enough, you two." Toshiro sighed getting the attention of the two men. "Let's go, I will explain the situation along the way."

/

The four Shinigami stepped out of the Senkaimon into the middle of a serene field. A gentle breeze rolled across the grass. There were a few trees around, but it over all was a pretty open space.

"Captain are we really in the right place?" Rangiku questioned as she spun around to take in the sights. Toshiro frowned as he looked at his soul phone.

"The coordinates appear correct. . ." Toshiro said more to himself than the others. He closed his eyes and after a moment shook his head. "There doesn't seem to be an hollows nearby. . ."

"Um, so is that one of those titan bastards you were telling us about, Toshiro?" Ichigo inquired nervously. Toshiro snapped his head in the direction of the orange haired Shinigami full intent on rebuking the young man on his informalities, but he stopped as he spotted a massive humanoid creature haphazardly running across the field towards them with a sadistic grin plastered across its face.

"I'll take care of it." Renji sneered as he drew his zanpakuto as the titan approached the group.

Without hesitation, Renji swung his sword in an upwards slash, effectively removing the titan's outstretched hand. The red haired Shinigami smirked and held his place as he expected the creature to begin writhing in pain, but it merely shouted and quickly moved to catch him with its other hand.

"Renji watch out!" Ichigo shouted at his friend. Renji dodged the blow and rolled inwards towards the titan while launching his sword forward nearly cutting the beast in half.

"That otta do it." Renji smirked again and swung his sword over his shoulders and turned back towards the group with a thumbs up. Toshiro's eyes widened and he quickly dove forward with Shunpo once he saw steam coming from the titan as its torso began to reform. Without hesitation, Toshiro finished the wound with a single blow effectively cutting the titan in half. As its top half hit the ground it continued to reach towards the Shinigami with its now regenerated hand.

"You guys get the hell out of the way." Ichigo shouted. "Getsuga Tensho!" the young man growled releasing a massive wave of energy that cut the titan clean in half lengthwise. The mutilated creature fell to the ground and began to fade away.

"That thing was pretty scary." Rangiku commented solemnly.

"It appears they will only die if they are struck in a specific place." the young captain pondered aloud.

"You mean you don't know, sir?" she commented curiously. "Didn't you read on the titans like the head captain asked you to?"

"Now's not the time, Rangiku, we have bigger problems." he tightened the grip on his sword as he faced into a horde of about thirty titans that were now racing towards them. The silver haired Shinigami jumped out of the way to avoid a large hand that gripped at the air where he had just been. Toshiro flipped in the air and brought Hyorinmaru down in a hard slash across the large titan's shoulder. His blade didn't seem to penetrate as far as it would have on the first one. He scowled and spun around to launch another attack. Within seconds the other three Shinigami were engaged in fighting as well.

Rangiku half shreaked half shouted as she clumsily rolled out of the way of a titan who was diving towards her. She pulled out her sword and quickly cut off two of the beasts finger as it quickly turned around to get her. Renji and Ichigo dove into the fray as they both agreed silently to tag team this fight. Renji jumped into a slide as he slashed the tendons making its legs start to buckle. Ichigo followed the red head with a forward slice at the titan's head taking it off from its chin up. But the titan's head began to regenerate while he continued to catch the young men.

Toshiro whirled around, hardly staying still as he skillfully dodged the growing number of titans around him. When the opportunity presented itself he struck one titan across the back of its neck, killing the beast instantly. Toshiro grinned, finally a weakness.

"It's the back of their necks!" the young captain shouted for his comrades to hear as he looked around for them. He could still hear Ichigo's shouting, but it was fading. The titans were forcing them away from each other. It was time to end this he thought. But his brief pause cost him as he was forced out of his thoughts by a titan roughly yanking him upwards by his sword arm. He gritted his teeth in pain as he began to feel his shoulder start to slip out of its socket. Smiling wildly, the beast brought the young Shinigami towards its mouth. Toshiro kicked upwards, breaking the Titans nose in the process. The move stunned the titan enough to drop Toshiro who landed clumsily on his feet.

Sharp pain ran throughout Toshiro's arm as he tried to grip his sword tighter. Damn, it was dislocated. The titans were starting to close in again. He needed to get out of here, fast. There was no fighting these guys with his arm out of commission. He jumped backwards and avoided a grab at his head by a smaller titan as he searched the crowd for any of his comrades, but all he could see were titans.

"Rangiku!" he shouted to no avail.

Damn. He frantically looked around until he spotted a forest to his left about a mile away. With one more look at the crowd he took off running towards the tree with at least five titans hot on his heels. Right as the young Shinigami reached the trees, he jumped up into the branches right as the titan who had been chasing him smacked into the tree, shaking it a little.

Toshiro used the height of the trees to try and spot his friends amongst the horde, but the sun was quickly setting and it was getting harder to see. Sighing he sat down and closed his eyes, letting his senses feel the area for the other Shinigami. He smiled slightly as he felt all three were still alive. That was a relief. Hopefully they all find a safe place to hide for the night.

_You should fix your shoulder while you have the chance._ Hyorinmaru gently prodded.

Toshiro nodded silently and gripped his injured arm with his good one. Gritting his teeth together he jerk his arm and felt the bone slip back into its joint making him shout from the pain. He gently massaged the tender joint, but that did little to ease the inflammation. It would heal on its own in time, but for now it was pretty sore.

He took a moment to look around before the sun completely set. He was sitting about fifty feet up in some of the biggest trees he had ever seen. There wasn't too much to see. It was just an endless sea of trees to one side and the field full of titans on the other. He could hear several below him making various noises and trying desperately to climb after him. It was probably best to wait until morning to search for his comrades. The young Shinigami slumped against the tree truck all while keeping his senses open for the others. Their spiritual pressure seemed fine for the moment, but there was no telling for sure from here.

Leaning back he glimpsed into the treetops until he could make out a few stars beginning to appear in the gaps. So far he wasn't to crazy about this place. He knew a little about the titans here, but their power and numbers had taken him off guard. And now his group had been separated. Finding out what the hollows or perhaps Aizen wanted from this place was hard to imagine, but he wasn't going to give up yet.

The silver haired Shinigami sat looking at the sky for what like an eternity before he realized that the titans had grown quiet. He peered down and noticed that they had left. Curiosity peaked his interest, but he did not want to risk jumping down just to be ambushed. He was still unaware of the mental capabilities of these monsters.

Before he could ponder it an further he detected four presences a few miles into the forest. He focused and could feel three that were human like, but also reminding him of the titans, and the fourth was someone he could never forget.

Gritting his teeth hard he stole another quick glance at the titans on the ground to confirm they were still gone before he took off towards the four with fury in his eyes.

**Who could he possibly be running off towards? Stay tuned to find out! Please review and let me know what you think. Chapter two should be up before too long.**


End file.
